Horses in Norse Mythology

Rate this ArticleGranted that Norse mythology is not as popular as Greek mythology, there are some amazing horses in Norse mythology that you might be interested to know about. If your interest is piqued, do read on!

Norse mythology isn’t exactly among the “spotlight mythologies”, such as Greek or Egyptian mythologies, and most people may not even have heard about them... well except for the Norse gods in the movie, Thor or the Avengers (which sadly don’t feature any of the incredible horses in the Norse mythology). Granted that Norse mythology is not as popular as Greek mythology, there are some amazing horses in Norse mythology that you might be interested to know about. If your interest is piqued, do read on!

One of the most important and perhaps famous horses in Norse mythology is Sleipnir, the eight-legged steed that is ridden by Odin, the chief of the Aesir tribe of deities in Asgard. The name “Sleipnir” in Old Norse refers to “the slipper”, which indicates the ole and importance of the horse as the carrier of the almighty Odin.

The gray-colored Sleipnir is sired by the trickster god Loki, in the form of a mare, and Svadilfari, a giant stallion with surprising strength. It is much boarder than any other normal horses as he has 4 front and 4 back legs. It is the often described as the best of all horses in Norse mythology. According to mythology, Sleipnir has a colt that grew into a fine handsome gray horse (a normal horse). Odin gave this horse away to the hero Sigurd who later names the horse Grani.

Horses in Norse mythology aren’t very popular in most games similar to how popular Norse mythology itself is. Nonetheless, several games paid tribute to Sleipnir. For instance, you can get Sleipnir as a mount in TERA: Rising (not the eight-legged version though). You could also create it via the item creator system in Second Life.

Furthermore, you’ve surely have heard of the ever-vigilant one-eyed guardian of Asgard, the protector of the rainbow bridge, Bifrost, Heimdall? If you’ve seen the movie, Thor, you will definitely know him. His eyesight is so keen and his ears are so acute that almost nothing escapes his notice. However, not many people know that Heimdall owns and rides a magnificent horse called, Gulltoppr. Not much is known about this horse except that it has a golden mane that matches Heimdall’s own golden set of armor.

Interestingly, in Norse mythology, there exists another transcendent horse, named Hofvarpnir that is very similar to that of Pegasus in Greek mythology. Hofvarpnir is the divine prodigy of two relatively unremarkable (by mythology standards) horses, Hamskerpir and Garorofa. It is the horse of the goddess Gna, who helps the goddess Frigg, the wife of Odin, run errands in other worlds. Considering that Gna is required to travel extensively, it is only fair to her that her horse is well-endowed for the tasks at hand. This is perhaps why Hofvarpnir is often described as being able to ride through the air and on top of the sea (with hooves that skim the water surface like a feather).

There are plenty more horses that are included in the Norse mythology. One such example – well, two examples actually – are the horses, Skinfaxi and Hrimfaxi, ridden by Dagr, the personification of Day in Norse mythology, and Nott, the personification of Night, respectively. If you’re interested to know more about the various horses in Norse mythology, you might want to go to the source and check out Prose Edda, a literary work that lists out all the horses in Norse mythology.

Love this article? Well, you might be interested to check out my previous article on the Horses in Greek Mythology. Don’t forget to rate this article and keep an eye out for a new article on important and famous mythical horses from a range of mythologies from around the world!